“I had her do the SAT problem of the day and she took the in-school class taught by her teachers.” a parent said about her daughter, a junior at Daniel Hand High School in Madison. “I’m really surprised that she did so poorly.” Let me clear: doing the SAT problem of the day is better […]
Read MoreTalking about college with teen children is as much fun as talking about going to the dentist with young children. “College” is the least favorite topic for many teens. Parents, similarly, don’t enjoy discussing but know they must. And that’s true. College is a turning point in life. I tell parents: “Imagine if you knew […]
Read MoreSome private colleges cost nearly $300,000 “all in”. Even in our affluent Shoreline CT communities, that is a significant sum of money. Since we have offices in Old Saybrook and Madison, I have conversations with parents from each town socially as well as professionally. I have to remind them that financial aid is not likely […]
Read MoreThe Importance of the SAT The Truth About the SAT and ACT Myths abound about standardized tests, but the research is clear: They provide an invaluable measure of how students are likely to perform in college and beyond The above headline from the Wall St. Journal article tells sophisticated readers what they already know: people […]
Read MoreUnrelated to the SATs-ACTs, high stakes tests – such as finals – become a bigger part of one’s academic career as students move into the latter stages of high school. In college, mid-terms and finals – high stakes tests – become an even more significant part of successs. So when I hear students say “I’m […]
Read MoreI had a wonderful lunch with a student who graduated from Madison Connecticut’s Daniel Hand High School about ten years ago. He had been an intern with The Learning Consultants and, as such, we have stayed in touch through the years. I met my young friend through our SAT class and, as such, I know […]
Read MoreI have off the record conversations with several college admissions officials during the last few years. The common consensus: “we can’t tell the difference in GPAs in any meaningful way.” Here’s a recent example, a local Shoreline, CT high school revealed eligibility for National Honor Society: anyone with a 90 average and above could apply. […]
Read MoreIf you haven’t discovered already, colleges have outstanding marketing departments. In order to demonstrate selectiveness – an important factor for college rankings – colleges need to attract many applicants. So, for example, has 1000 applicants for 500 spots, the college marketing department is tasked with increasing the number of applicants to 2000. One way to do […]
Read MoreI am careful not to insult other specific states – particularly because I am from New Jersey! – but I often tell students that once they drive through the country they will realize how well educated they are compared to their national peers. As such, they should embrace the SAT as a great way to […]
Read MoreDuring our SAT classes over the past few years, some large part of our success has come from lowering the anxiety of our students. In addition to providing techniques to helping master the test (thereby lowering anxiety due to mastery) and providing techniques to lower test-taking anxiety (directly addressing the issue), the process of exposure […]
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